![]() ![]() ![]() Los Angeles finished off the series with a 98-88 win that saw them lead by as much as 17 points. Pippen (three points on 0-7 shooting) and Olajuwon (eight points on 3-10 shooting) struggled mightily in the loss.įacing elimination, Houston received great performances from Pippen (37 points, 13 rebounds and four assists) and Barkley (30 points, 23 boards and five dimes) as they won easily 102-88 in Game Three. In the second game, the Lakers jumped out to an early lead and led by as much as 23 points in a 110-98 victory and a 2-0 series lead. Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley had his layup attempt blocked by Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal as time expired and the Lakers took Game One 101-100. In the latter stages of the first game, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant drew a foul on Rockets guard Sam Mack with 5.3 seconds left and nailed two free-throws to give the Lakers a one-point lead. The 1999 postseason saw the Rockets duel with the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round. The Rockets also played a much slower pace than Pippen preferred. A career 32.8% shooter from beyond the arc, Pippen wasn’t the ideal perimeter threat to play off of Barkley and Olajuwon. Known for his time as a master ball-handler, cutter, passer and post up player in Chicago’s triangle offense, Pippen was relegated to a spot-up shooting role and a background role in Houston’s offense. Though Pippen was a capable post entry passer, that style of basketball clashed with his game. The Rockets’ goal was to force the opposition to double team the two future Hall of Famers who would subsequently kick the ball out to the open man. Houston’s offense was built around post-ups for Olajuwon and Barkley. ![]() He also shot 43.2% from the field, the lowest shooting percentage of his career up until that point. Pippen also managed 6.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 2.0 SPG and 0.7 BPG in 50 games and 40.2 MPG. Pippen was slow to adjust to Houston’s offense, posting 14.9 PPG, his lowest scoring average since his second season in the league. ![]() However, Houston faltered down the stretch going 9-10 to finish 31-19 and in fifth place due to a tiebreaker loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. A nine-game winning streak in late-March got the Rockets to 22-9 and third in the West. Houston won five of their first six games during the 1998-99 season, but was inconsistent throughout. With rookies Michael Dickerson and Cuttino Mobley in the backcourt along with Pippen, Olajuwon and Barkley, the Rockets had a new-look team. A free agent at the same time, Barkley took a pay-cut so the Rockets could acquire Pippen. Pippen essentially replaced the recently retired Clyde Drexler in Houston’s veteran trio with Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. Soon after the lockout ended, the Bulls signed Pippen to a five-year, $67 million deal and subsequently dealt their perennial All-Star forward to the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal for big man Roy Rogers. Longing for a new contract, Pippen finally got his wish, but on a new team. One key figure in Chicago’s dynasty was Scottie Pippen who had been in a toxic relationship with Bulls management. When the NBA lockout happened in 1998 and lasted up until January of 1999, no one knew if the Chicago Bulls would be able to make another run after their “Last Dance” championship run in 1998. On October 2nd, 1999, the Houston Rockets traded forward Scottie Pippen to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward-guard Stacey Augmon, center Kelvin Cato, forward Walt Williams, forward-center Carlos Rogers, and guards Brian Shaw and Ed Gray. Portland Trail Blazers Acquire Scottie Pippen In Trade for Six Players ![]()
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